We recommend: Vote yes on Amendments 5, 6

Oct. 11, 2010

Florida voters have a major opportunity to stand up for the cause of good government and improve the health of democracy Nov. 2.

They can do it by approving Amendments 5 and 6, which would end the gerrymandering of Florida legislative and congressional districts and create more fair representation in Tallahassee and Washington.

That’s something everyone should want regardless of party or political ideology, and why we strongly urge voters to vote “yes” on both measures.

The issue involves the redistricting process that takes place after the Census every 10 years, but has been corrupted by politicians redrawing boundaries to quash competition and keep a lock on power.

Look no further than Florida House District 29, held by retiring Rep. Ralph Poppell, R-Vero Beach, to see gerrymandering at its worst. It carves a narrow strip of voters from North Brevard south to rural lands in Indian River County.

But it’s not a Republican or Democratic issue. Both parties gerrymander when they’re in the majority, drawing geographically absurd districts to ensure incumbents get re-elected.

The skewed districts mean there’s little real choice for voters — such as in 2006 when every member of Brevard’s GOP delegation, except one, ran unopposed for re-election.

Gerrymandering forces out the moderate voices needed to reach compromise on important issues, with heavily one-party districts electing the most far-right Republicans and far-left Democrats.

That’s fueling the polarization in government and strengthening special interests that funnel large sums of money to incumbents to get what they want.

The harm to democracy is why we supported moves to end gerrymandering in the 1990s when the Democrats were entrenched in power in Tallahassee, and support it now that Republicans run the show.

The amendments are on the ballot because of a grassroots movement led by Miami-based FairDistrictFlorida.org, which collected more than 676,000 signatures from citizens across party lines.

The measures would:

-- Forbid the Legislature to draw district lines to favor a political party or protect incumbents.

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-- Require districts be compact and respect community boundaries.

-- Require districts be as equal in population as possible and not disenfranchise minorities.

The proposals wouldn’t completely remove politics, since the Legislature would still have the power to redraw lines. But they would set strong benchmarks to right the system that allows Florida’s lawmakers to choose their voters, instead of voters choosing their leaders.

Here’s another reason why you should vote “yes” on 5 and 6:

The Legislature’s powerbrokers did everything they could to kill them.

The move was led by Senate President-designate Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, who will head the redistricting process.

He initially succeeded in getting the GOP-controlled Legislature to place a rival amendment on the ballot that would have gutted the reforms.

However, the measure was struck down in the courts, with one judge calling it a confusing mess and FairDistrict advocates rightly calling it a shameful attempt to fool voters.